of Greece, it appears that you are not aware that Athens was a city, and a famed one, centuries before the first mud cabin of Rome was thatched, and the Gypsy vagabonds who first peopled it, had escaped from the hands of justice.”  “Signior Donatio, you are an ignorant heretic, and insolent withal, what nonsense is this! . . . ”  But I will not weary your ears, Kyrie, with all the absurdities which the poor Latin Papas poured into mine; the burden of their song being invariably, what nonsense is this! which was certainly applicable enough to what they themselves were saying.  Seeing, however, that I was more than their match in religious controversy, they fell foul of my country.  “Spain is a better country than Greece,” said one.  “You never tasted bread before you came to Spain,” cried another.  “And little enough since,” thought I.  “You never before saw such a city as Seville,” said the third.  But then ensued the best part of the comedy: my visitors chanced to be natives of three different places; one was of Seville, another of Utrera, and the third of Miguel Turra, a miserable village in La Mancha.  At the mention of Seville, the other two instantly began to sing the praises of their respective places of birth; this brought on comparisons, and a violent dispute was the consequence.  Much abuse passed between them, whilst I stood by, shrugged my shoulders, and said tipotas. [429]  At last, as they were leaving the house, I said, “Who would have thought, gentlemen, that the polemics of the Greek and Latin churches were so closely connected with the comparative merits of Seville, Utrera, and Miguel Turra?”

Myself.—Is the spirit of proselytism very prevalent here?  Of what description of people do their converts generally consist?

Dionysius.—I will tell you, Kyrie: the generality of their converts consist of German or English Protestant adventurers, who come here to settle, and in course of time take to themselves wives from among the Spanish, prior to which it is necessary to become members of the Latin church.  A few are vagabond Jews, from Gibraltar or Tangier, who have fled for their crimes into Spain, and who renounce their faith to escape from starvation.  These gentry, however, it is necessary to pay, on which account the priests procure for them padrinos or godfathers; these generally consist of rich devotees over whom the priests have influence, and who esteem it a glory and a meritorious act to assist in bringing back lost souls to